For all the experimentation with taste and awe-inspiring science that accompanies his unique brand of culinary expertise, the one thing that Heston Blumenthal can never be accused of is arrogance. Sure, he loves the bravado and the element of surprise that goes with an almost lone foray into the world of alternative cooking, but in everything Britain’s most ambitious chef does it’s important to remember that beneath the chemistry, there is a true chef at practice.

“I think of myself like any other chef - my inspiration comes from the world around me and it’s all about how well I can express that, as to what I can create in the kitchen,” he says. “Maybe I’m different in the sense that I feel I get most inspiration from people who aren’t chefs. For me, simply travelling and spending time around creative people provides the spark - that could be a sound engineer, a magician or a perfumer - but learning about other professions allows me lots of ideas.

“I love fresh food and the thrill of creating something, but we still have a misconception floating around that food is just about taste. It’s not. It’s about embracing all the senses - that’s why I like to bring in a little bit of magic, theatre, noise and sound to cookery.”

He succeeds, unquestionably. It explains also why the 44-year-old is big news at the moment, having signed up for a number of projects that will test his creative and organisational skills to the maximum.

“I have to feel busy,” he continues. “In the lab, we currently have 600 dishes in development, some that will be featured on upcoming seasonal menus but most that will never see the light of day. You need to have real energy in this business because what you put forward on a plate is often the final result of a very long process.”

That energy has prompted new TV series Heston’s Michelin Impossible, plus the release of the hugely popular book, Heston’s Fantastical Feasts. He’s also been working with stalwart Delia Smith as part of a Waitrose promotion and has recently pulled off his first full dinner service at a stately home.

“I don’t think people expected to see Delia and me as a duo, but she is something of a legend in my eyes,” he says. “We have been able to spend some quality time together as a result of the Waitrose campaign and I must say it has been a real pleasure. I admire the fact that Waitrose has chosen chefs from different ends of the culinary spectrum to combine our experiences of food.

“I remember, years ago, watching one of Delia’s programmes where she showed people how to simmer water properly. That sounds crazy, but boiling water is simple; simmering it, however, to produce a good poached egg, for example, is a more precise task. I love that kind of attention to detail. She has done so much throughout the years to encourage people to try new ingredients and that’s the essence of what food is all about. She has been a massive influence on me, without doubt.”

And the step into a Grade I listed Palladian mansion in Oxfordshire under the guise of the Aynhoe Park Supper Club?

“A very good friend of mine got married at Aynhoe Park last summer and I absolutely loved it there,” he says. “It’s a stately home that is full of surprises; you have modern works of art blending in with Jacobean architecture. There’s grandeur, but humour and quirkiness too. We had never done a full dinner before because of the sheer volume of work. For me though, the excitement of serving a meal like that in such a magnificent venue made it a challenge I was really keen to take on.”

Of course, such a venue is the very antithesis of Blumenthal’s much-lauded flagship restaurant The Fat Duck, which is set in the idyllic Berkshire village of Bray but steers clear of the pretention that dresses some countryside dining experiences.

“It’s great that The Fat Duck has succeeded without being a grand venue itself,” he says. “It doesn’t have grounds, a lake at the front or a view of the ocean. It’s a little old cottage on the side of the road that has achieved what it has because of what goes on inside it.”

Blumenthal admits that, in his early years, he feared location was a restricting factor. But time and again, it has been proved that people will travel from all around to sample something unique and although central London venue Dinner now caters for that urban audience, it’s clear that the 44-year-old’s first base will always be regarded as his most important. The Fat Duck is, after all, the foundation of the entire Blumenthal brand and the place from where he most keenly assesses the changing face of the food industry.

“No matter what kind of industry you are in, I think there are business fundamentals that are particularly important during times of austerity. For me, everything comes down to food, service and value for money. Value for money isn’t always to do with how much you pay; you can have value for money at a really expensive restaurant and be totally ripped off at a cheap one.

“I think service might be even more important than food,” he continues. “If food goes out as it should do, then it’s the service that will make or break whether a customer will come back. For us, time has never been more important and when we go to a restaurant we want to be relaxed, we want to have a good time. If food is served properly, friendly and humanly, then people will invariably have had a great experience.”

All that remains for Blumenthal is to get the food right - a challenge enough for any chef, but for one constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation, added pressure indeed.

“I think we’re all looking to change food, just at different levels,” he says. “My current show, Heston’s Michelin Impossible, is aimed at transforming offerings within various national institutions such as within the NHS and at the cinema. But for people watching at home, their equivalent transformation could be preparing something in a different way, or turning a sauce on its head to reinvent vegetables or meat.

“If you have ambition and versatility then what you can create in food becomes pretty much endless. Vegetables will always offer you that more than anything else because of the way you can prepare, blend and dress them. For me, onions and potatoes represent entirely that versatility. They’re so simple yet the options are incredibly complex - the flavour, the texture... everything.”

Of course, such simplicity wouldn’t quite reflect Blumenthal’s persona and sure enough, he mentions cucumber ketchup with roasted scallops - a favourite at the Mandarin Oriental.

“I think people do need to be more excited about fruit, vegetables and meat for that matter,” he says. “I feel that public health campaigns have probably gone too far in that they only talk about nutrition. We need to get back to people enjoying their food for the smell, the flavour and the overall eating experience. If you turn people on to that within the right kinds of foods, then the health aspect will take care of itself.”

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